The Geese rolled to their first postseason plaque since 2008, manhandling the Braves 63-41 to capture the Class 1A ROWVA Regional crown.

The win sends Wethersfield (25-6) into the Brown County Sectional Wednesday night to face Mendon Unity, which won the Camp Point Central Regional by holding off the hosts 43-39 behind 22 points from Will Klusmeyer.

“Brown County is a little bit at the end of the earth and turn left, but I guess we’re going to make that trip,” said Wethersfield coach Jeff Parsons. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Neither team mounted much offense early, but the Braves added to their woes by falling into foul trouble.

Michael Smith was whistled for two fouls in the first 90 seconds, and was relegated to the bench for the rest of the half.

“We were doing what we wanted to do on the defensive end,” said Annawan coach Brandon Christy. “They would try to penetrate and we got those fouls called and there’s not much we could do.”

In addition to Smith, Annawan frontcourt players Ben Foster and Donovan Kirkhove also picked up two fouls each in the opening quarter.

“We got in foul trouble and had to go to the bench early,” the Annawan coach added. “When Michael Smith sits the whole second quarter, that’s tough. He’s a big part of our team.”

The Geese made nine trips to the line in the first quarter, and knocked down seven of them en route to a 16-8 lead.

Wethersfield pushed the lead to double figures early in the second quarter, but the Braves battled back within 22-19.

The Geese closed the half with 10-3 surge to lead 32-22 at the break.

The Geese squashed any hopes of an Annawan comeback by starting the second half with an 8-2 run to extend the margin to 40-24 and force a Braves’ timeout.

The lead was 46-29 after three quarters and the Geese cleared the bench late to close out the regional title win.

“We did some good things tonight, obviously, and I’m proud of my guys,” said Parsons.

The Braves bow out at 12-20 on the season, but had a memorable week in Oneida as they took out seeds three and two — Ridgewood and Galva — on their way to the title game.

“This week’s been great,” said Christy. “Like I’ve been saying all year to the players, our record doesn’t show how good we can be. I told them once we get to the postseason, we’re going to turn some heads. That’s exactly what we did.”

Page 2 of 2 - Tony Gripp was the lone Annawan player in double figures with 18 points.

Trevor Lay led three Geese in double figures with 18 points, followed by Tyler Litton with 16 and Trey Hannam with 10.

Wethersfield only had one more field goal than Annawan — 14 to 13 — but the Geese went to the line 46 times and converted 34 free throws. The Braves were 13 of 23 from the line.

Also Friday night...

In other area regionals, Elmwood advanced to the Brown County Sectional with a 59-49 win over Williamsfield at Princeville. ... Payson Seymour also earned a trip to the Brown County Sectional, defeating Liberty 63-57 to win the Griggsville-Perry Regional. ... In Class 2A, Rockridge rolled to its own regional crown with a 57-37 win over Orion. ... Seneca slipped past St. Bede 52-50 to win the Bureau Valley Regional title.